Golf: Henderson, Hedwall share 36-hole lead at Marathon Classic

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(Field Level Media) - Canada’s Brooke Henderson and Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall closed their rounds with back-to-back birdies on Friday, and the pair shares a one-stroke lead after 36 holes at the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.

Henderson put together a 5-under-par round of 66 after Hedwall shot 67 to leave both at 9-under 133 for the tournament.

Thailand’s Thidapa Suwannapura, who held the Round 1 lead after shooting a 65 on Thursday, sits alone in third at 8-under par after carding a 69.

Emma Talley (67), Jacqui Concolino (69) and South Korea’s Chun In-gee (69) share fourth place at 7-under par, with six more golfers another stroke back. That group includes world No. 7 and defending champion Kim In-kyung of South Korea.

After making just one bogey on Thursday, Henderson went bogey-free Friday, tallying three birdies on the front nine and parring the first seven holes after the turn. She then gained a stroke on each of the back-to-back par-5s at 17 and 18 to get to 9 under for the tournament.

Hedwall managed the same feat, a day after birdies on the same two holes in a stretch of four in a row to close the back nine. Her scorecards have been quite colorful so far, with five birdies and a bogey on Friday following a nine-birdie, four-bogey opening round.

“I’ve just been striking the ball really well and made a couple of putts,” Hedwall told reporters after her round. “It could have been a lower round today, but I’m really happy with 4 under and a 9-under total, and I’m just looking forward to the weekend.”

Suwannapura opened her day on the back nine and was 1 over through 11 holes with a pair of bogeys and one birdie. She followed with three birdies between Nos. 3 and 6 to get to 2 under for the day and 8 under for the tournament.

“Today I didn’t play my best,” said Suwannapura, who notched 10 birdies and four bogeys on Thursday. “I didn’t hit it that close to the pin, so not many birdies today like yesterday.”

Talley also started on the back nine, bogeying her first hole before stringing together five birdies and 12 pars over the rest of the round.

Ecuador’s Daniela Darquea engineered the low round of the day and of the tournament thus far with a 7-under 64, which she achieved despite two bogeys. Darquea started on the back nine and was just 2 under on the day through 14 holes, but she aced the par-3 sixth hole — her second hole-in-one this year — and birdied Nos. 7, 8 and 9 to close her round.

Despite the low score, she remains six shots off the lead in a tie for 26th at 3 under.

Lexi Thompson, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 5 in the world, is in a tie for 16th at 4 under after shooting 68.